MOVIES: Get down and dirty with two festivals this week

Calling all midnight and cult movie fans ... it's your week to howl.

That's because two separate film festivals hit Las Vegas this week, offering a walk — and maybe more — on the wild side: the Polly Staffle Grindhouse Fest, which begins a five-day run Wednesday, and the erotic film festival CineKink, scheduled Thursday through Saturday.

First up: the Polly Staffle Grindhouse Fest, known hereafter as PollyGrind, will present 13 movies and more than 31 trailers, music videos and shorts at the Sci-Fi Center, 2520 State St.

Programmed in the tradition of '50s and '60s "grindhouse" theaters with double and triple bills featuring everything from horror to animation to sexploitation. (Full festival details are available at www.PollyGrind.com.)

Filmmaker Chad Clinton Freeman programmed the festival, which "is being put on in the same spirit as old-school grindhouse cinema — no funding and creatively using whatever is available," Freeman stated in a news release.

"Hopefully, PollyGrind is a fun and unique experience that honors the darker side of cinema and showcases the work of filmmakers with defiantly independent visions," he added.

PollyGrind includes five world premieres: the sci-fi "Scars of Youth," which opens the festival Wednesday; plus Thursday's "The Dead Undead"; and Saturday's "Vaginal Holocaust," "Caged Lesbos A-Go-Go" and "Orgy of Blood." 

Tickets are $10 per day; three- and five-day passes ($25 and $40, respectively) may be purchased in advance at PollyGrind.com or TheSciFiCenter.com.

CineKink, meanwhile, kicks off at 8:30 p.m. Thursday with a fundraiser at the Erotic Heritage Museum, 3275 Industrial Road, then continues Friday and Saturday at the Onyx Theatre in Commercial Center, 953 E. Sahara Ave., with a variety of film and video programs and panel discussions.

Billed as "the kinky film festival," the New York-based CineKink (now in its seventh year) presents a wide variety of titles, from documentaries to dramas, comedies to experimental films, with content ranging from mildly spicy to extremely explicit — and everything in between.

CineKink festival passes are $50 ($40 for seniors and students), with two-day passes priced at $30 ($20 for seniors and students), single-day passes at $20 ($15 for seniors and students) and single screening tickets at $10. Audience members must be 18 or older. A complete CineKink schedule and other information is available online at www.onyxtheater.com.